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#36 December 2021 | Monthly Digital Breadcrumbs

Spend some time rambling through these digital assortments which I tweeted this month.

READ

It is currently possible to drive a mid-size electric car 1.8 million kilometres using the same energy it takes to mine one single Bitcoin.

We see crypto as a mob of misguided fools repeating the ecological disaster of Easter Island on a global scale for the sole purpose of selling man-child themed Neopets.

Ethical beauty brand co-founder shows courage by quitting Facebook which potentially means losing £10m.

Damn, investor calls for criminal charges and prison for Facebook execs.

Exploring the scary evidence which suggests social media is causing real damage to adolescents (especially teen girls).

A proposal in Scotland to ensure all new homes to be built to Passivhaus standard.

Satellites discover huge amounts of undeclared methane emissions.

Just 15 companies are responsible for three quarters of greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand.

UN announces plan to adopt Welsh approach on Future Generations legislation.

WATCH

EXPLORE

This website which presents a new icebreaker question every time you refresh.

Only works as a Chrome plugin but this online app helps you save time by automating repetitive tasks in your own browser or in the cloud.

A wonderful online tool where what you write triggers accompanying art.

DevTunesFM includes 18 stations and around 8k tracks to play in the background whilst you’re working.

Chosic is a fantastic resource to find royalty free music for your creative projects.

Excalidraw is a collaborative whiteboard / diagram maker which is fricking ace.

Unmodified complete collection of Mac Wallpapers (although will work on other laptops).

OUIGO Lets Play is a great online pinball game.

All monthly digital breadcrumbs posts.
Published

Suction Media | The Death Of “Social”

suck suck suck spaceballs

Social media no longer has the spirit of unbiased discovery and the foundation of open collaboration it used to.

Gone are the bloggers exploring their voice and building story through a variety of mediums. Quiet are the RSS advocates hungry to curate their own discerning media menus then sharing it through their networks which they build with care. Muted are the excited discourse of connected communities who celebrate learnings of others and champion wonder / curiousity.

Platforms now base their whole business model on distraction and extraction; squeezing users for as much information as possible, repackaging to sell on to others, all whilst positioning only the content it wants its patrons to see which keeps them on the platform and in turn, their shareholders happy (as these are paid for ads). And so the cycle continues.

It’s no longer “social” but “suction” media.

Chamath Palihapitiya we are being programmed

And the permeating enabler is the rise in “smart” technology or any “surveillance device that also does something else” (our phones, computers, wearables, childrens toys, cars, offices, homes, cities). This is the crucial layer which provides multiplying access points without awareness and explicit permission from the user, and certainly without due care to the culture its cultivating.

Watch Cory Doctorow drop some knowledge about the impact of all this (an illustration of how deep the rabbit hole really goes):

Welcome to the suction media age.


In 2016 I launched a little blog focussed on how young people are consuming and creating new media. MediaSnackers (and the complimentary Social Media For Suits, a couple years later) became a business and flourished in their modest ways: in 5/6 years hit the six figure turnover threshold plus was employing a handful of awesome humans as well as enabling organisations to accelerate their understanding and adoption of new / emerging technologies.

In that short amount of time it took me to five continents, put me on stages speaking to tens of thousands of other cool folks and basically rapidly increased my learning by using the technology tools and the social media strategies I was championing.

In 2011 the move to NZ was to take up the position of social media manager for a national education company, an opportunity which included the indication of the same company buying into my ventures with the intention of relaunching it in the Southern Hemisphere. This buy-in never transpired and 18 months later I high-fived out and went back to the freelance life. Both MediaSnackers and Social Media for Suits were put into permanent-pause mode and I picked up social media speaking and consulting gigs ever since all over the place.

Even with employment stints like a year as a business designer or a little longer as an activation manager setting up a city-wide event programme, I still kept the social media services going and have been so lucky with the clients I’ve had, the people I’ve met, the wonderful souls I’ve collaborated with, the skills I’ve gained, and the lasting hunger for learning its created.

I owe a debt to the sector of “social” and it’s definitely been on the whole an enriching chapter.

But alas, the soul has been sucked out of it.

If I had the time and energy the focus would be on advocating for a newer form of social technologies. One which has opt-in/out options already built in rather than hidden due to the regulatory protection which protects its users. Assisting the development of school curriculums to focus on teaching algorithm biases and how to navigate / curtail / complain to platform creators. Learn how to code mobile apps / city infrastructure software which act with integrity and appreciation of the users interest first.

However, my service offerings have already been repositioned with this new site design, and the focus is now on:

  • creative producing—crafting delicious learning experiences for brands / organisations, continuing with TEDxWellington and also building on the past two independent events (this and this);
  • speaker coaching—storytelling and public speaking coaching for senior executives and leaders;
  • Creative Welly—imagine if Wellington was the most creative little capital in the world.
Addendum: This doesn’t mean I’m quitting social media and digital technologies. Will continue to utilise these as tools to humanise the brands and activities I’m working on, to add value to communities I interact with, to learn / curate like a banshee whilst celebrating those doing amazing work. It just means I’m no longer taking paid consulting / speaking gigs on it.

Apart from…

…if anyone wants a vitriolic talk taking to task the ninjas and gurus who have diluted the sector or the smart technologists who need to be smarter, then this is the only ‘social / digital media work’ I’ll now be available for. Anyone brave enough?

Published

Unplugging | Kicking It Old School

stoplooklive

After over a decade of being immersed in online social spaces and digital technologies it’s time to take a break.

To quieten the cleverness.

To go deep (not just wide).

To consolidate memory.

Regain focus.

Reflect.

Create.

Play.

That means no more blogging / Twitter / Tumlbr / Pinterest / Facebook / RSS feeds…

Don’t know how long—definitely for a good few weeks / months (during my west coast trip), maybe longer.

“The quieter we are, the more patient and open we are in our sadnesses, the more deeply and serenely the new presence can enter us, and the more we can make it our own, the more it becomes our fate.”
Rainer Maria Rilke

In the past couple of years the whole social media space has become noisy with advertisers / marketeers and diluted with experts.

That being said, recently I’ve discovered the next set of questions—just have to work out if I have the energy to start another business around them and if I’m in the right place for folks who are ready buy.

Still available for hire regarding consulting and speaking gigs (no more training services though unless it’s c-suite level).

I’m back.

Published